Astros owner apologizes to reporter, retracts initial statement on Taubman

Houston Astros owner Jim Crane has apologized to Sports Illustrated journalist Stephanie Apstein for initially questioning her report about former team assistant general manager Brandon Taubman yelling at female reporters following Game 6 of the ALCS.

Crane sent a letter to Apstein on Saturday - one week after the incident - to express regret for a statement that called her report "misleading" and "completely irresponsible."

"On behalf of the entire Astros organization, I want to personally apologize for the statement we issued on Monday, Oct. 21," Crane wrote in the letter, which was shared by Apstein. "We were wrong and I am sorry that we initially questioned your professionalism. We retract that statement, and I assure you that the Houston Astros will learn from this experience."

In her report, Apstein wrote that Taubman taunted multiple female reporters about the team's acquisition of closer Roberto Osuna. The report said that during Houston's clubhouse celebration, Taubman yelled six times, "Thank God we got Osuna! I'm so f------ glad we got Osuna!"

Osuna was acquired by the Astros in 2018 while he was serving a 75-game suspension for violating the league's domestic violence policy

Taubman was fired by the Astros on Thursday in the midst of Major League Baseball's investigation into the incident. MLB's probe is still active and will not be completed until after the World Series.

The Astros previously apologized to Apstein after Taubman was fired, but they didn't acknowledge her request for the statement to be retracted at that time.